LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Who Made Who, Queen: It's A Kind Magic, Bon Jovi Forever, And Led By Zeppelin!!)

Today's news post is devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the Sault Community Theatre Centre for later this month, and I do apologize for only finding out about these in one cluster just recently. I've gotta stay more on top of S.C.T.C. concerts, and they've been pretty busy for booking notable touring shows and bands this year, even if the last attempted one (Dr. Feelgood) fell victim to "unforeseen circumstances". In an SMS-amenable context, what is first up there this fall?

Hamilton-based Led Zeppelin tribute band Led By Zeppelin will make their local concert debut at the former Kiwanis Theatre on Saturday, September 12th! If this gives you deja vu, it's likely because we just saw a different Led Zeppelin tribute (London's Zed) headlining Rotaryfest Stage 1 yesterday, so the turnaround to have another Zeppelin tribute from Southern Ontario exactly eight weeks later seems really odd. I find it's unfair to compare tribute bands of the same source act due to inevitably subjective opinions, but what I can tell you is Led By Zeppelin deliver the goods musically! Not so much visually, there's no real attempt to dress like Led Zeppelin, but as Motorhead fans saw with M1 earlier this month, you don't have to mimic the original artists' hair and clothing to deliver a good show. Hopefully Led By Zeppelin get a strong turnout in September, especially if the Zed fans last night want a kinda-sorta encore!

This concert has an 8:00 PM start time and no age limit, but unlike Zed at Rotaryfest, this will be a paid and ticketed event (unless you are under 6 years old). As such, adult tickets cost $61.02, seniors 65+ and students 16-25 will cost $49.72, and kids 6-15 will cost $27.12. Those may seem high, but given the large and fancy theatre playing host, hopefully tickets move well, and there's plenty of good seats still available. Buy yours at this link or at the in-person box office at Station Mall, and stay tuned for more on what should be a solid concert for late 1960s and 1970s hard rock fans!

Next up, if you want another tribute to a legendary British classic hard rock act of the 1970s, you only need wait until Wednesday, September 30th, when Australia-based Queen tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic return to the White Pines Collegiate-based theatre! Fans of Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger have been absolutely spoiled post-pandemic, as not only has this particular tribute band rocked the S.C.T.C. three times on their global tour runs (most recently in May of last year), but they're not even the most recent Queen tribute to play here, as the Great Britain-based Majesty just headlined at The Machine Shop in March. Again, I'm not comparing the two, but It's A Kinda Magic have gotten really solid crowds and high praise in their past local stops for how well they pay tribute to Queen musically and visually, so hopefully this show brings the goods all around again!

Like with Led By Zeppelin that same month, this is an all ages ticketed event, albeit with a slightly earlier start time of 7:30 PM. The show will have adult ticket prices of $75 with kids under 13 at $45 (no senior or student rates here), and if you're curious, prices here are slightly up from Q.I.A.K.M.'s show here last year. Based on the online ticket sale link (click here), there are still lots of good seats available still, though the show is moving tickets a little faster than Led By Zeppelin. Buy yours online and at the in person box office, and while this isn't the cheapest show going (and mid-week), there's a reason why this Queen tribute comes here so much!

Also this fall at The Sault Community Theatre Centre is the return of Oshawa-based Bon Jovi tribute band Bon Jovi Forever, who will headline there on Saturday, October 10th! This Thanksgiving long weekend concert will be (at least) this particular band's third stop here, following a Rockstar Bar show in 2016 and their S.C.T.C. debut in September of last year. As I recall, B.J.F. drew well last fall, and you can see proof of how that show went via videos linked here. Baz and crew sound the part and deliver enough visually for fans of both early hair metal Bon Jovi and their later, more general rock material, and he definitely sounds better than Jon himself does nowadays, so hopefully things go well in their return to White Pines in three months! The 8:00 PM start time, all ages status, and ticket prices here are actually identical to the Led By Zeppelin show in every way, so see above for the ticket price breakdown.

Of note, tickets aren't moving nearly as fast yet for this concert, but Bon Jovi Forever drew well last year, so this should tick up, and it just means that you have time to get a really good seat! Click here or visit the in-person box office to get yours, and visit the above links for more details!

Lastly for new Sault Community Theatre Centre concerts of a hard rock persuasion, Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who will return to the Soo on Saturday, October 24th in a joint concert with Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band Green River Revival! This is being touted as "the ultimate rock concert", which is quite a claim, and while the two bands aren't even contemporaries for era, the two will cover a lot of ground for classic rock fans. Both bands share management, hence why it makes sense for them to share a bill if tour paths cross, and they've both played here numerous times, including as the featured touring headliner of Rotaryfest (Green River Revival in 2019, Who Made Who last year). Repeat local stops for both is a good sign, so fans know that Who Made Who will deliver their requisite high voltage rock n' roll again, while Green River Revival's faithful take on CCR and John Fogerty hits will go well for southern rock fans in the Soo in October!

This concert has a listed 7:30 PM start time, and will be all ages like the rest. The show was literally first announced last week, so this has the most available tickets of the four, and prices are a flat $55.37 for all, which is the cheapest of the four shows, surprisingly so given Who Made Who & Green River Revival's combined name recognition. Expectations appear to be high for ticket sales too, as this is the only one of the four with available balcony section seating, so get yours A.S.A.P. at this link and/or at the in-person box office while selection is good! Looks like a lot of good 1970s and 1980s hard rock tribute action is in store for the Soo this fall, so visit the above links for more on all four concerts! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & Most Of This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Due to a trifecta of hard rock concerts later today in Sault Ontario, this round of weekend concert previews is up on the site nice and early so that there's time to get info on them! Well, most of them, as I'll cover Bone Yard 225 and The Nameless' gigs on Saturday in tomorrow's post. Here's what you should know, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Joining his previously announced matinee concerts at Misty's Fifties on SATURDAY and at Beck's Bar on SUNDAY, local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will also hit The Dive Gastro Pub for this week's "Think It Over Thursday" concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on TONIGHT's show, it was only announced via the venue's concert calendar on their Facebook page on Saturday. Last seen at Misty's two weeks ago after his Eagles Club show last week was cancelled, this unusually busy stretch (at least as far as publically advertised gigs go) will see Tym rock three different local venues in a four day span. Hopefully all three shows go well for Tym, including at Beck's, marking his first show at the former Vibe Lounge since his early 2010s gigs there with his band Caveman Morrison! TONIGHT'S show at The Dive's "Naughty Corner" is at 9:30 PM, but the two matinees are at Misty's at 4:00 PM on Saturday and at Beck's at 3:00 PM on Sunday.

None of these shows have an announced cover charge. Visit the Facebook event pages linked here for more details, and for a preview, here's a new original song on Tym's YouTube channel from last month! Entitled "Hypocrisy", this is about the hypocrisy of religion (Tym is a devout Christian), and features a video with lots of stock and AI footage relating to his viewpoints. I won't go into detail on all of that, but this is an intense classic metal song that will play well for fans of his "Solo Project" CD and 1980s speed metal, complete with a quality solo! Not that this will be very indicative of his acoustic concert sets, but check out "Hypocrisy" below!

Next up, there's two big touring headiners hitting Sault Ontario TONIGHT, starting with the long awaited return of Victoria, British Columbia hardcore punk legends The Dayglo Abortions, who will be taking the stage once again at Soo Blaster! Punk fans will have seen The Cretin and gang at Soo Blaster two years ago, with tonight's show being their fourth in the Soo in the past fifteen years, out of town gigs with Spades GT acknowledged. The Dayglos' hard hitting and in-your-face brand of hardcore punk always draws a local crowd, and while the mid-week timing will be difficult for some, I fully expect a strong turnout! Joining The Dayglo Abortions on tour are Vancouver "west coast skacore" band Dirtnap and Prince Edward Island folk punk outfit The Devil's Punchbowl, who bring their own distinct styles to the table in their first Soo concert appearances, though Dirtnap have a more aggressive punk base.

Don't bypass either group tomorrow, nor the local openers, namely crossover thrash quartet Hails (featuring this show's promoter Mikhal Muto on guitar) in their first public concert set of 2025, and while they're getting a later start to the year, what a way to get back at it! No word on if they'll have copies of "Punk Canada Vol. 4" on sale though. This ALL AGES concert has admission of $20 in advance through Ha!ls members or $25 at the door (online sales have ended) and doors open at 6:30 PM. You won't want to miss out on this diverse punk attack at Soo Blaster tonight, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Dayglo Abortions live here in 2023!

Also taking place TONIGHT is the third local concert appearance of Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic at the Sault Community Theatre Centre! After not stopping here for their 2024 tour run, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will rock the former Kiwanis Theatre tonight for the first time in two years, and if you are at all a fan of Queen's, you won't want to miss their faithfully presented and performed take on the British hard rock legends' back catalogue, particularly what was played on their 1986 world tour! This concert at White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School's on-site theatre takes place tonight at 8:00 PM, and tickets have sold very well, with just two floor section seats still available as of this writing, along with a selection of gallery seats. Regardless of location, tickets cost $69 in advance ($40 for kids 13 and under) at this link or at the Station Mall box office, and presumably at the door if any are still available then.

QIAKM have proven to be a steady local success in their prior local stops, and with their huge stage show and replication of Queen's music (let alone touring to support the 50th anniversary of "Bohemian Rhapsody"), you won't want to bypass this one if you're a huge Queen fan! Visit the above links for more details, and here's a kinda magic live!

Finally for this preview post, let's head to The Esquire Club, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 will set up shop TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at Northern Superior Brewing Co. last month, these will be the first shows at this Second Line West staple from "the Sault's premier party band" since late March, and according to their Facebook page, "our last one until the fall". By that, they mean bookings at The Esquire Club, as Silent 9 will again take the summer off from regular bar/nightclub concerts in favour of festivals and private events, as per their website's concert calendar. They are scheduled at The Water Tower Pub in two weeks, but that'll be their last normal bar gig for the spring, and their next public concert afterwards will be at Rotaryfest Stage 1 on Thursday, July 17th. I traditionally wait to cover all of that for when the full schedule is dropped, but it's good to note that they'll be back there in two months!

For now, you can enjoy Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve's eclectic mix of classic and hard rock tunes at The Esquire Club tomorrow and Saturday at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Silent Nin9 live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Bone Yard 225 and The Nameless previews and more on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Queen: It's A Kinda Magic & About:Blank), Plus New Music Videos!!

Let's get a new news post on the site on this cold Sunday night, and it's half devoted to new music videos and half to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!

A number of alumni from last fall's Lake Superior State University battle of the bands will gather at Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley, Michigan for the first show of 2025 from local promoter Brighton LeBlanc's agency Serious Business! To be held on Saturday, February 8th, this show (possibly named "We Will Be Music") will be headlined by the live concert debut of About:Blank, the new (according to Brighton in an e-mail) punk trio from former Tarnished bandmates Parker Talentino and Nathan Webber! Their lineup is rounded out by former Letters To Abel/Midnight Logic drummer Kade DesArmo. No hints of their music yet beyond what we know of members' prior band work, but based on About:Blank's lineup, they should fit our coverage! We'll have more on them in an upcoming post. Opening the proceedings in three weeks are newer local indie rock band (and Sole Aggressors side project) The Undecideds, plus local acoustic singer/guitarists Kevin Blakeney and Kaleb Shannon.

With the exception of Kade, everyone played at the LSSU battle last fall, so every act except Tarnished and The Small Town Society will be at least partially represented at Pickles next month (Nathan and Parker left Tarnished prior to the battle, where both played in separate acts). Whether you were at the battle or not, consider driving out to Brimley for what should be a fun night of original E.U.P. music with a nice mix of genres! This show has a 9:00 PM start time, 18+ age limit, and $10 cover charge. Visit the above links for more on this next round of Serious Business!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return to the Sault Community Theatre Centre for their third local headlining appearance on Thursday, May 8th! It seems like this highly proficient and faithful Queen tribute have played here more often (possibly due to their 2022 debut here being postponed twice due to pandemic restrictions), but this will be their first trip to the former Kiwanis Theatre in two years, skipping the Soo on their 2024 Canadian tour run. From what I heard, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic delivered a great stage show with strong Mercuryesque vocals in early 2020s stops here, so if you are a big Queen fan, you'll be right at home with their return this spring, especially as they're touring in honour of the 50th anniversary of the release of "Bohemian Rhapsody"! All of the action goes down at White Pines' amphitheatre on May 8th at 8:00 PM, with no age limits whatsoever.

Tickets run at this link or at the in-person box office for $69 (adults) or $40 (kids 12 and under), which is actually $3 lower across the board from 2023. Sales have been good even with our coverage not being immediate, as the closest center section seats available are in the twelfth row (fourth in the side sections), so act now to ensure as good as a seat as possible if you don't have tickets already! For more details on Queen: It's A Kinda Magic's return to the Soo, visit the above links!

Now let's look at two newly released music videos from notable local bands, and we'll start with the long-teased debut music video (and studio single) from local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek! As launched yesterday with their non-concert release party at Jay's Piston Broke Pub, the song is "One For The Road", and you can see its video on their new YouTube channel, as well as hear the song on "every streaming platform" (in reality, it's on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Anghami). The band has also launched their own official website in conjunction with the single and video, including an electronic press kit and hype for the current members and their upcoming album plans, but not a lot of detail on their pre-2024 activity. The song was mixed/mastered by Josh MacIntosh, and the video was filmed by Josh Penno at Spacebag Productions.

The music video intercuts scenes of frontman Justin Grayson driving to Jay's with the band setting up for an acoustic performance there, plus Justin singing the song at the bar proper, before everyone is seen playing "One For The Road" together on stage, and ultimately leaving the Korah Road nightclub at the end. I'll hold comment on the song itself pending our review of Fort Creek's long-gestating debut album, but the video is well filmed and edited, and if you like acoustic southern rock, you should take to this song, so give Fort Creek's first video and single a watch/listen below!

Finally, here's a surprise from last week, namely an official music video for local death metal band The Bear Hunters' 2014 single "Collapse The Sun"! The second Bear Hunters-branded music video to be posted to their YouTube channel this month (joining "Squirrel Buddy"), this features assorted clips of the band in concert in the early-mid 2010s, and is not strictly designed to sync up with the original song in terms of performance clips or lineups (as such, look for 2010-2011 rhythm guitarist Mike Vincent here and there). Some of the footage was shot by yours truly, which is neat to see! It took a decade+, but it's great to see the "Eternal Hibernation" lead single get a proper and well compiled music video, even if that album's production quality wasn't as high as on 2020's "The Dead Testament". Give it a watch below, and we'll let you know what other (final?) content that The Bear Hunters have in store for 2025!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Poutine Feast), New Videos, And More!!

Happy Father's Day to all of our dad readers! Today's post is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS regarding a popular downtown festival in a couple of weeks, while we also have some recent concert videos and assorted updates to touch on, so here's what you should know!

Live music will return to the Sault Ste. Marie Poutine Feast over the Canada Day long weekend, and while a full performer schedule across all four days (Thursday, June 29th-Sunday, July 2nd) is not yet out, two SMS-leaning bands are confirmed for this year's itinerary, starting with funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns outside of the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site at 800 Bay Street on Thursday the 29th! The Stallyns played last year's festivities as the Thursday morning openers, but they have been bumped way up to evening headliners at 6:00 PM, which is a change from last year, where only the Friday and Saturday programs had bands that late. It's worth noting that singer Christina Speers' new disco tribute band The Saturday Nights will also be playing at the Poutine Feast this year, but they have not publically stated the day or timeslot. We'll let you know when/if organizers release the full schedule (they did last year, in any event!)

The Stallyns confirmed their involvement via this Facebook page, as did the other known band playing at the Poutine Feast this year, namely local alt-hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich! About one year after members of the two bands joined forces for early July gigs under the Stallyns banner (The Wyld Sandwych?), Handsome Sandwich will make their standalone Poutine Feast debut as the headliners on Sunday, July 2nd at 4:00 PM! Be advised that the band gave their timeslot as 4:00-7:00 PM, but the Poutine Feast's own advertising says that the festival ends that day at 6:00 PM. One of them is right! This will be Handsome Sandwich's first show since the Soo Soundcheck event earlier this month, and hopefully they prove to be a fitting soundtrack to cap off the Poutine Feast! No word on other bands playing this year, but the timeslot spacing would imply three bands daily except for two on the shorter Sunday program.

Of course, the main portion of the Poutine Feast is the poutine, with many kinds on sale from a bunch of food trucks all weekend long, so if you love fries drenched in gravy & cheese curds (or anything else), head down to the Old Stone House for all of that, with music to match! The daily programs begin at 11:00 AM across all four days, this is absolutely all ages, and admission is free assuming you don't buy any food. Visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for continuing updates on this year's Poutine Feast as they roll in!

Next up, here's our long-awaited write-up on videos from the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tribute concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre on May 21st, courtesy of Christopher Paci's great YouTube channel! Again, apologies for the nearly month-long delay in these making the site, but now we're caught up for his heavier concert videos (assuming he wasn't filming at something this weekend!). Chris shot eight videos of the Australian Queen tribute band playing the classic songs "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions", "Under Pressure", "I Want To Break Free" (featuring singer Dominic Warren heading out into the crowd), "Bicycle Race", "Another One Bites The Dust", "Radio Ga Ga", and as embedded below, "Bohemian Rhapsody". Always impressive seeing a band tackle the entire version of that song, even the "scaramouche" part, which the real Queen used a pre-recorded track of because it was hard to replicate.

Chris has gotten clearer videos compared to these, and the audio can be soft at times and scratchy at others, but he has a good view from the right of the stage to capture It's A Kinda Magic's very professional stage set-up and high attention to detail! You can tell that this tribute had the Queen look and sound down pat, so fans of the British hard rock legends will have been right at home, and you can tell by the audience reception! Give Chris' videos from last month a look above and below!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• Former Rising Tide/Lake Effect drummer Chris Johns filled in for Tony Santoro behind the kit when Generations played at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last night due to unspecified "prior commitments", according to the band's Facebook group. Fan-shot photos have already made their way there, and hopefully Chris fit in well with Generations for the night!
• The one-off reunion of local classic/hard rock cover band That's Chester at Rotaryfest on July 15th will feature original singer Richard Fullerton as their lead singer for the evening, according to the band's Facebook page! Ritch had made guest appearances with That's Chester in their last two Rotaryfest gigs in 2016 & 2018, but he appears to have fully replaced Greg Simpson for this show, making this the first Rotaryfest without Greg fronting a band since 2009. No reason was given for the switch, but fans of mid-2000s That's Chester will be glad to see Ritch back from Ottawa for the night! Dan Belanger will return as rhythm guitarist in lieu of the late Eugene Orlando.
• To promote last night's Soo Blaster concert, local punk trio Vanity First and rap/party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty were spotlighted in this SooToday news release! No big scoops here unless you weren't familiar with The A.A.'s fluidity for inviting guest musicians on stage (never guitarists, the band has never had them), but we do learn here that Vanity First were originally a quintet named Five Angry Women before eventually changing their name to Vanity (First) and paring their lineup down. One ex-band member is bassist Nick McClelland, but I don't know who the other one was. Good promotion for the concert, so check it out above!
  

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bookclub), The Queen Tribute Concert Preview, And New Videos!!

Packed news post on this Saturday night over the Victoria Day long weekend, including new videos and related updates, the last preview for this weekend's hard rock/punk slate, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month! Here's what you should know!

Online page-less local alternative/punk cover quintet Bookclub will return to the stage on Friday, June 16th for an outdoor set at the corner of Queen Street East and Gore Street as part of the third annual Summer Moon Festival! If you're unaware of this event, the S.M.F. is an annual arts festival that grew from outdoor murals amid pandemic restrictions in 2021 to a full scale festival with arts and music events at multiple downtown locations over the Father's Day weekend next month, so definitely visit the official website for complete details on the Summer Moon Festival itinerary this year! Live music debuted at this festival last year, and while the vast majority of the artists don't fit our active coverage, Bookclub will provide a rock respite during the Street Yourselves Street Party on the 16th alongside a meet & greet session with muralists who painted in the area, a mini-comic/collector's convention, and vendors from restaurants in the area of the street party proper.

Bookclub will be joined by local roots rock veterans The Hustle Brothers for the street party, and in a mild surprise, The Wyld Stallyns will not play at the Summer Moon Festival at all, which (I believe) is a first for a Bookclub gig. As far as the Street Yourselves Street Party goes, this is an all ages event at 8:00 PM with no cover charge, and bars in the vicinity of the stage will be open. Weather permitting, this should be fun for outdoor concertgoers, so visit the above links for more detail!

Next up, we'll wrap up this weekend's hard rock concert previews by heading east to the Sault Community Theatre Centre, where Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return for another high profile local concert TOMORROW NIGHT! As Queen fans may recall, this tribute played here in May of last year to a strong turnout, despite being postponed twice across an almost two year span due to the pandemic. Assuming that there isn't another deadly pandemic breaking out this weekend, this Sunday's concert should hold, and if you saw Queen: It's A Kinda Magic last year, you'll know that their faithful looking and sounding stage show will deliver the goods compared to what you know of Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's heyday, particularly their 1986 world tour! While selling well like last year, tickets are still available from the fourth row and back (side sections) and the eleventh row and back (centre section).

Tickets for this all ages & 7:00 PM concert are available at this link or at the S.C.T.C. box office at Station Mall for $72 (adults), $43 (kids 12 and under), and $67 apiece in a group of 6+ adults, price points all being $10 higher than last year. Hopefully things go just as well for this bohemian rhapsody of rock classics from Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tomorrow night, so visit the above links for more on their returne, and here they are live!

Staying in the realm of new videos, I was unable to attend the Dayglo Abortions/Random Killing concert at Soo Blaster last night due to a trip, but we can get a glimpse of the headlining Victoria, B.C. hardcore punk band's set via the video below! Uploaded to promoters Live705's Facebook page earlier today, this 6 minute clip captures three songs from The Dayglos' set, though there's not much in the way of breaks between them, so note that when checking this out. It features most of "Two Dogs Fucking", "My Girl", and "Dog Farts", and don't shoot the messenger, I didn't title these songs! While unfortunately shot vertically, and including an odd aside where the filmer left the bar proper during "Dog Farts" (did he take the suggestion if he wanted to work or not?!), the video comes through nicely and was shot with good stable views of the stage and even some of the fans! I like the video projection behind the drumkit too.

Murray's vocals can be hard to hear, complicating my work identifying the songs, but fans of The Dayglo Abortions will take to this video below, and we'll let you know if any more footage from last night turns up!

We'll close with some updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, starting with the reveal that they are shooting their first ever music video! The former Jack Spades didn't make one for their local output, but despite their bigger platform in the GTA, they did call home to get this video done, specifically bringing in ex-Shit Liver frontman Josh Penno's Spacebag Productions for the shoot! He's also filming a video for guitarist Daniel Horton's other current band The Fast Life while in town. Lots of teaser images from the set have been shared on the band's Facebook page, indicating that they're playing in a (well lit) barn, with a plotline involving an axe wielding maniac (played by bassist James Roy Daley) stalking a female victim. Based on the video plot, it seems likely that the song in question will be "Final Girl". It'll be interesting to see how the final product looks, presumably before June 2nd!

Before wrapping things up, the band released one more advance single from their forthcoming album "Sewer City Radio" to their YouTube Music channel on Thursday! The song in question is "XS" (as in "excess"), which is the track featuring Fast Life frontman Andrew Moorehouse on a guest verse. I'll hold comment on the song pending our eventual album review, but the band said that it is a "lil (sic) something different for us", so judge for yourself below, and stay tuned for more from Spades GT!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck) & Victoria Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Victoria Day (a.k.a. May 2-4) long weekend is drawing near, so let's preview most of this weekend's hard rock and punk concerts, though due to the amount, Sunday's Queen: It's A Kinda Magic concert will be previewed in our next news post. Here's what you should know, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for traditional concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the shows on their Facebook page this afternoon, with the venue only following suit after Soundcheck first announced them. Yes, these shows follow their usual Thursday night hosting duties at the former Reggie's West tonight, but those are typically sans-Cameron and we've never treated them as concerts for our purposes due to their unpredictability by design. Fresh off of Esquire Club gigs last week, TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows will be Soundcheck's first standard concerts at Jay's since the Bring Back Summer party three weeks ago, and will be their first gigs since Jay's underwent a renovation of some type to the stage area, so it'll be interesting to see what's different compared to the old Rosie days!

For the record, no holiday/long weekend-related themes are suggested for TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY. These shows have no cover charges, 9:30 PM start times, and 19+ age limits as usual, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Next up, we'll move to shows with advance notice, like the highly anticipated return of two legendary hardcore punk bands, as Victoria, British Columbia's own The Dayglo Abortions and Toronto mainstays Random Killing will make their respective Soo Blaster debuts TOMORROW NIGHT! Local fans have been waiting nearly a decade since the last Dayglo set in Sault Ste. Marie (September 2013 at what's now Jay's), so if you're up for another blast of old school punk from The Cretin and company, including cuts from their new album "Upside Down World", head downtown tomorrow! As for Random Killing and their Saultite frontman Andrew "Drool" Kiteley, we last saw them at The Rockstar Bar in July 2019, and it will be great to have them back for another hardcore homecoming of sorts tomorrow, with their own new album "Bring Out Your Dead" also fresh to deliver songs from to the Soo Blaster faithful! Vancouver garage/noise trio Motorama will make their local debut tomorrow as well.

Not a hardcore punk band, but they will help get things on the right foot with their hybrid sound! Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will play their first local date of 2023 as the openers in a rare Sault Ste. Marie set post-pandemic, and with usual Dayglo/Random Killing promoter J.D. Pearce moved out of town, their promotion company Live705 have reemerged to put this show on. Great to see A Dire Setback & Live705 back, and this should do well for them! This 19+ concert has an 8:00 PM start time and $20 tickets that you can buy at this link and at the door while available. Hopefully this is a huge show for all involved, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here are The Dayglo Abortions live!

Also, let's head a little further downtown to Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where local punk trio Vanity First will make their first appearances TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Following a one-off test of the conceit at Reggie's last month, these will be solo headlining dates akin to cover-centric bands who play on the weekend nightclub circuit, so expect lots of covers along with Andrew, Mikhal, and Keeghan's established originals this weekend! Nothing else too shocking to report for these gigs, but whether you're going to the Dayglos' concert or to see Vanity First tomorrow, punk fans will have a lot to like this weekend! These concerts have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details on Vanity's Shooters debuts this weekend, and here they are live!

Finally, we'll head back up Queen Street East, let's next preview new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations' gigs at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This union of the final Jus' Chillin lineup and ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley last took to the stage at The Esquire Club late last month, and they have gotten a good reception for their initial gigs this spring, so hopefully they set things off on the right foot on this holiday long weekend! If you can't make this weekend's shows, or would prefer to see them in the west end, Generations will be back at The Esquire Club next week. Tomorrow & Saturday's Generations concerts have 19+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. With the talent and skill level on display from Generations, classic and hard rock fans should find something to like here, so don't miss out at Reggie's this weekend, and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes (and the Queen tribute preview) on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Queen: It's A Kinda Magic), The Fishbowl Festival Closing Party Preview, And More!!

After surviving the St. Patrick's Day concert weekend with no hard rock or punk stone left unturned (with one exception addressed below), we're back with a new news post on this Sunday morning, including new live concert videos and a preview of a rare Monday night concert. However, let's lead off with a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this spring!

Almost one year removed from their pandemic-delayed local debut, Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will return to the Sault Community Theatre Centre on Sunday, May 21st during their 2023 Canadian tour! This one seems to have flown under the radar for where I research concerts, as I only learned about it yesterday via physical advertising at Station Mall, but it's great to see Queen: It's A Kinda Magic coming back to the Soo, especially given how well tickets sold for last year's concert despite being postponed twice across two years! Fans of Queen will be in good hands in May via this band's faithful approach to their 1980s stage show and clear talents in replicating Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger's music, so don't miss this one if you're a fan! Tickets for this show run for $72 (adults), $43 (kids 12 and under), and $67 apiece in a group of 6+ adults, though all three pricepoints are $10 higher than last year.

Plenty of tickets are still available from the third row & back in the center section, and in all rows in the left/right sections, and you can buy yours at this link or at the Station Mall's box office, though do act quick as It's A Kinda Magic sold very well last year. If you're a fan of Queen and you do indeed want it all, you should get your money's worth at the former Kiwanis Theatre, so visit the above links for more on all of the action in two months!

Next up, here's our preview of a special Monday night concert TOMORROW, as local party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty will headline the Fishbowl Festival's closing party at 674 Queen Street East wine bar/restaurant Broers Jansen! The first concert we've ever covered at the former Wine Barrel, they'll play host to the final event in the post-pandemic return of the full-scale Fishbowl Festival (ending when it does because of when Pisces ends in the astrological calendar), with Paul and Amanda bringing their eclectic rap rock stylings back for a relatively rare live set. Hopefully their lively brand of originals & covers cap off the Fishbowl Festival right! Support will come via folk rock mainstay Brian Tremblay (no sign of The Sinister Hearts) and online page-less dark synth pop solo artist OwenMK. This 19+ concert has a 6:30 PM start time with Brian playing at 7:30 & The Apocalypse Afterparty headlining at 8:30 PM.

Tickets run for $10 (on a limited basis, likely due to the size of Broers Jansen), so if you don't want to take a chance on paying at the door, click here to order yours in advance. Broers Jansen will also be offering snacks & drinks for purchase if you are so inclined. This should be a fun way to cap off the Fishbowl Festival, especially after the long pandemic road to get here, so kudos to Nicole and everyone else involved with its return, and least for a Monday nighter, it'll end early if you have work or school on Tuesday morning! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Apocalypse Afterparty live!

We'll close with some videos from this past weekend (none from Pop Evil yet, surprisingly), but we'll lead off there with an apology for a missed concert in this past weekend's concert previews, as local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison actually played last night at Tazzi's Cafe & Restaurant as well as Friday night. This was never announced by the venue's Facebook page, but Tym revealed on his personal Facebook page that they asked him back for a second straight night, so clearly the Friday gig went well! Alas, if you didn't see his personal posting (or possible physical advertising at Tazzi's), this will have flown under the radar, but apologies again, I'd have covered it had I known! As for that video, Tazzi's filmed Tym at his publically advertised show on St. Patrick's Day for Facebook, where you can see him playing 85 seconds worth of a familiar instrumental (alas, I'm not good with naming songs like this).

Usually, videos from Tym's shows that surface publically involve vocals, so this is an interesting change of pace, and it lets you get more of a look at his guitar skill and the extra production and effects that he puts into his live show so it's not just an vocal/acoustic guitar performance. Yes, the video is vertical, but as it's of one guy, it's not so bad, and you get to see how Tazzi's looks as a venue as such. Check it out below, and apologies again for missing his show there last night! 

Finally, the other new video is also from a venue's Facebook page of a concert this weekend, specifically of local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last night, and remember how I said that I'm not good at identifying many instrumentals? Yeah, this is another case of that! It's good to see the band back at full strength after their three week break, and the 20 second clip sounds nice while it lasts, but the vertical camera angle does it no favours, especially from the filmer's vantage point with the dreaded post on the old Rosie/Reggie's West stage getting in Greg's way. Still neat to see more footage, so check it out below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tarnished) & Weekend Concert Previews!!

With the Victoria Day long weekend (or May 2-4 weekend, if you prefer) almost upon us, let's dive into this weekend's concert previews! Not a packed number of concerts for hard rock acts this weekend, but there's a big show on Sunday to check out, and let's lead off with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT in the E.U.P.!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to the stage for a concert TONIGHT at The Brickyard Bar & Grill in nearby Rudyard! Apologies for the short notice, which Tarnished themselves acknowledged, but the venue actually announced the show back on May 3rd on their own Facebook page. In case you're unfamiliar, The Brickyard was better known as Dan's Place and occasionally hosted hard rock concerts into the mid-2010s, before re-opening with new name & ownership in 2019. After the usual pandemic hiatus, they have recently began hosting live music again on weekends, with Tarnished's show TONIGHT being their first since rocking the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino in March. No word on where they've been over the spring, but hopefully Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh shake off any stage rust in time to rock The Brickyard TONIGHT!

This concert (located at 18794 South Tilson Road, a half hour southwest of the Soo) has an 8:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. Despite the late notice on the band's behalf, hopefully TONIGHT's concert is a hit at a relatively new-ish venue for Tarnished, and I'll definitely keep more of an eye on The Brickyard as the year progresses! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts in Sault Ontario, starting with local ska/hard rock veterans Tripod The Dog's third and final stop in The Esquire Club's Buckets, Bands, and Birds series of Saturday matinee concerts TOMORROW! As regrettably missed for coverage on here at the time (apologies again), Tripod fans were able to see Mark and the Amendolas at this popular Second Line West nightclub on March 26th & April 16th, with tomorrow's show ending their run of monthly gigs here before the series concludes without a Tripod the Dog show in June, with regular nighttime weekend gigs expected to return in the fall, pandemic willing. In the Buckets, Bands, and Birds series, expect beer & buffalo wing specials if you go for such things, but remember that the matinee timing will be more amenable to supper-time anyway. Hopefully Tripod The Dog entertain with their well established rock hits tomorrow!

As is the case with other shows in The Esquire Club's Saturday matinee series, this concert has a 3:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and while a 19+ age limit would make sense given the locale, the early timing may be of note if you want to inquire within. Visit the above links for more details, and in lieu of a live video of Tripod the Dog, here's an original song of theirs!

Later on TOMORROW NIGHT, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for the second time in just over a week! After an atypical Friday nighter at the Dennis Street nightclub last week, fans and patrons alike will be able to see Terry, Cameron, Paul (or Rob?), and Glen in action once again with their diverse and often hard rocking brand of covers, so consider a downtown trip tomorrow for Souncheck's wide array of familiar tunes! Yes, Soundcheck also hosted their weekly Reggie's West open mic night yesterday, something we traditionally don't cover as a "concert" on here. Saturday's Shooters show has an 8:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and 19+ age limit, as usual for their 2022 shows at this venue. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Soundcheck live at Shooters!

Finally for this weekend, let's head to the Sault Community Theater Center, where Australian tribute band Queen: It's A Kinda Magic will finally take the stage THIS SUNDAY NIGHT! While not as prominently covered as Black Label Society's pandemic saga to get a local booking, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic have had multiple dates locked in at the former Kiwanis Theatre, initially in June 2020 before being pushed to June 2021, and ultimately this Sunday. Kudos to the band & their management for sticking with the Soo through all of the highs and lows of the pandemic, and hopefully nothing goes awry again beforehand! This stop on their current Canadian tour should provide an ample opportunity for Queen fans to see a very faithful tribute to Freddie, Brian, John, and Roger that has received numerous plaudits for their visual presentation and close take on Queen's unmistakable sound (specifically from their 1986 world tour), so come on down for all of the action!

Note that the S.C.T.C. advertising says that It's A Kinda Magic are "back by popular demand", presumably referencing the pandemic rescheduling, as I don't think they've played here. Tickets for this all ages show run for $62 (adults) or $33 (kids 12 and under), with $57 discounted rates for those in a group of 6, and I believe tickets held from the 2020 and 2021 dates will be honoured on Sunday. Ticket sales have been good for this one, with the closest seating available at press time being in the eighth row, so keep that in mind. Click here or visit the in-person box office at the Station Mall to get your tickets. Should be a great time for Queen fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Q.I.A.K.M. live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

Toystock & Tarnished Updates, Plus More News & Notes!!

Here is our newest post on the SMS, keeping with our recent schedule of having a new SMS post every three days due to a lack of new material. At the moment, I am forecasting this month's YouTube Channel Profile hitting the site on Wednesday, but if I catch word of any short notice concerts for the upcoming weekend, I could bump the feature post ahead to likely end this very slow month. Time will tell, but let's kick things off with a big concert cancellation, followed by some more recent updates!

Despite an optimistic teaser post on their Facebook page on November 4th, the ninth annual Toystock charity concert has been cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In a post shared from organizer/performer Greg Simpson's personal Facebook page yesterday, he noted that they were looking into hosting Toystock as a live-streamed event with one band playing online each day over a 10 day span, but fears from organizers and performers of coronavirus case increases, restrictions on indoor gathering allowances, and a potential second lockdown have led to this decision, as well as the reality of fundraising websites needing to take a percentage of donations. I fully understand Greg and company's call, especially if it hinders their ability to entertain while also facilitating Christmas Cheer donations as usual. That said, Greg promises to bring back "the biggest and best Toystock event yet" in 2021, and he strongly encourages everyone to donate new/unopened items to Christmas Cheer.

Were it not for COVID-19, Toystock IX likely would have been held this coming Sunday at The Grand Gardens North, FYI. This is definitely a disappointing announcement, but if you can't give Toystock your all for the great cause it supports, especially as a kick-off to Christmas season, postponing it to next year does make sense in that way. See above for more details on the Toystock cancellation, and donate what you can for Christmas Cheer to make the holidays brighter for those in need!

Next up, here's the latest from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished, starting with the launch of their own YouTube channel! So far, there are four videos uploaded there, all re-shares from Facebook, including the previously seen behind-the-scenes clip from the "Metalyn" music video shoot. The most substantial of the others is embedded below, and it relates to a new merchandise give-away contest that the guys started last week, as teased via a series of Facebook page-exclusive videos. These were all short and primarily feature new pictures of band members alongside a lot of post-production clip-art and logos, with last Sunday's video's description noting that it has a "victory selfie from finishing recording at our studio." Did they record more studio material, or is this referencing work on the music video? Only one of the teaser clips actually has motion, namely the last one featuring a pan and scan of wintry conditions before bassist Josh Fair hypes the giveaway.

That all said, what should you know about the actual merch give-away? In the video, Tarnished (minus Gary) announced that they will hold draws starting on Wednesday, December 2nd for five merchandise bundles, and you can enter by liking, sharing, and/or commenting on the video, which will count for up to three entries. The five bundles will include signed copies of their debut CD "Down To The Wire" and frontman Alex Traynor's solo album "Crazy World", t-shirts, wristbands, and/or guitar picks, with one winner getting everything, and they'll do another set of giveaways if the video is shared 10,000 times. This sounds like a fun idea during this low point of the pandemic, and it may be a remedy for Tarnished to disperse some of their merchandise when they can't sell it live. In a follow-up "After Hours" video, you can see Alex, Josh, and Nathan jokingly discussing what their next plans are, albeit with some honesty about the pandemic-hit 2020 calendar.

There are more videos from Tarnished's Facebook and YouTube pages to share here, but to spread things out and ensure content for posts next week, I'll hold them for now. Tarnished are doing what they can to keep up fan interest at a rough point in the pandemic, and this contest should definitely help, so get more details on their current activity above & below!

Finally, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Local hard rock solo project Hubbard announced on their Facebook page last month that they have "been fine-tuning a lot of songs in the past few weeks", that there is "fun stuff to come next year", and to "stick around for new music". Given Chris' pedigree as a guitarist and his familiar local band work, the sporadic updates from his solo work are very surprising, but fingers crossed we hear more of his new original content in the near future!
  
• Back on June 1st, The Sault Community Theatre Centre's Facebook page announced that the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic tribute concert in Sault Ontario has been rescheduled for Wednesday, June 2nd of next year, exactly 50 weeks from the original June 17th date, obviously called off due to COVID-19. Hopefully the new date holds up, as this tribute band deliver the goods! Tickets bought for the original date should be honoured, and contact the S.C.T.C. box office for details on refunds if so desired.
• Local punk trio Redundant announced on their Facebook page on November 1st that they "spent some time writing tonight" and have "new songs coming your way", while later asking fans to suggest songs that they should cover. Nice to see that the guys are staying busy this fall, and hopefully the fruits of their labour will turn up at some point soon! See above for more details!
  

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile by Wednesday, unless there's some concerts to preview! Thanks everyone!